NEWS
AN IMPORTANT YEAR FOR THE AFTERMARKET INDUSTRY The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) and its members face a particularly busy year ahead
As part of the AAAA’s informative webinar series, AAAA Chief Executive Officer Stuart Charity, and Chairman of the AAAA Board of Directors, Mark Pedder, recently took a look at the highlights and challenges in store for the industry across the coming year. “After a false-start with the Omicron wave, when I look at what we have in place for 2022, I can say we are definitely looking forward to a better year ahead. We have an incredibly ambitious agenda for 2022 here at the AAAA,” Stuart said.
The AAAExpo The Australian Auto Aftermarket Expo (AAAExpo) will take place across 7-9 April after a forced postponement due to COVID-19 restrictions. “We are sitting on the edge of a sell-out from an exhibitor point of view with 97 percent of space sold; visitor registration numbers are on the rise after an Omicron pause; and we have so many exciting things happening including the Workshop of the Future Pavilion, the 4WD Innovation Zone, the Awards Banquet and much more – it is going to be so great to get our industry together again,” Stuart said. “Of course, COVID-19 presents challenges, but we are seeing shows across the world successfully starting up again – we are confident, and we are seeing that our visitors are also confident of a great, Covid Safe event. “All of the numbers show that there is a massive industry desire to come back to Melbourne and
reconnect and learn, and all the features we have running at the Expo will create such a buzz on the Expo floor. It will be a terrific atmosphere for visitors and of course, it is free for trade – and once you register, the expert Seminar Series is free to attend too.”
Government has changed the consumer competition act for any industry, and we also now have the most comprehensive legislation anywhere in the world, leap frogging the American and European laws, and that is very, very exciting but also very complex to put together.
Mandatory Data Sharing Law
“Everything about this new Data Sharing Law is new and so that can be challenging. We are on a path we have never walked in Australia and whilst we have the American system to draw from, it has to fit our unique environment and our law is different – in some respects it is more comprehensive than the US and it is certainly more ‘mandatory’ with up to ten-million-dollar fines for non-compliance.”
The hard fought for Mandatory Data Sharing Law will come into effect on 1st July and the AAAA is playing a leading role in setting up the infrastructure to enable its successful operation. “We are excitedly getting ready for the kickoff of this much-anticipated new Law in July and there is in fact so much to talk about on this subject, we have been holding dedicated webinars on the topic and there will be seminars at the AAAExpo concentrating on this subject also,” Stuart said. “It is the first time ever that the Australian
The Auto Innovation Centre (AIC) 2022 marks the third year of the AIC and the Centre is experiencing a growing client list and increasing demand for its specialised services. “The AIC has a great, talented and motivated team which is doing fantastic work. We have a whole fleet of R&D vehicles, we have scan data, we are doing dynamic vehicle testing, and we are working with the regulators on trying to setup the framework for testing, such as for ADAS calibration,” Stuart said. “We are also hard at work with one of the first deliveries of the 300 Series Landcruiser which is going to be huge for modifications – we have already torn it down to create scan packages and are now getting ready for dynamic testing. “We are very proud of this facility and very excited about where it is heading. Now more than ever we need the AIC – the industry is using the Centre and the fact it is bringing the government regulators into a collaborative dialogue is also an incredible bonus.” The AIC will be exhibiting at the AAAExpo, showcasing the technology they offer, and
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Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine March 2022
